Alcohol on Queen Mary 2

[theavonb]

13 minutes ago, cook68 said:

You could buy a mixer on board. There will be cans of coke in your fridge. I don't remember seeing tonic? We took a few bottles of tonic and will do the same. It's just nice to have a little pre drink in your room when getting ready in the evenings. 

We need Diet Coke, hubby is diabetic. Do you know how many cans of pop we are allowed to take on-board?

[cook68]

Just now, theavonb said:

We need Diet Coke, hubby is diabetic. Do you know how many cans of pop we are allowed to take on-board?

Fill your boots. You can take as much as you like. Diet was in the fridge as well. 

[theavonb]

Just now, cook68 said:

Fill your boots. You can take as much as you like. Diet was in the fridge as well. 

Awesome, thank you👏🇨🇦👏

[theavonb]

2 minutes ago, theavonb said:

Awesome, thank you👏🇨🇦👏

The pop in the fridge, do you pay for it?

[IB2]

31 minutes ago, theavonb said:

The pop in the fridge, do you pay for it?

Yes.  They even charge for the bottled water.

[bluemarble]

37 minutes ago, theavonb said:

The pop in the fridge, do you pay for it?

 

If you are in a Britannia grade cabin, then yes you pay for anything taken from the minibar fridge. The price sheet I have from this past May indicates the cost of a Coca Cola or Diet Coke 330ml bottle taken from the minibar was $3.80 + 15% service charge = $4.37.

Edited October 26, 2019 by bluemarble

[theavonb]

1 hour ago, bluemarble said:

 

If you are in a Britannia grade cabin, then yes you pay for anything taken from the minibar fridge. The price sheet I have from this past May indicates the cost of a Coca Cola or Diet Coke 330ml bottle taken from the minibar was $3.80 + 15% service charge = $4.37.

Thanks for the info, we’ll probably take some cans of pop on with us. That is pricy for one can 😱

[hilcadon]

We are booked on  the round trip transatlantic in late July out of New York  on the QM2 and were just discussing this tonight with my sisters who will be traveling with us. We are going to bring on board a case of wine as well as a case of water and  2 bottles of Hendricks Gin. We have looked on the boards here about the  drink package and it seems that they have not really perfected it. We have had the drink package with Celebrity and it included everything with no up charge so it was well worth the money. If I paid 70.00 PP per day and they up charged me for anything I would not be happy. We have also had the drink package on Princess , Norwegian and Royal Caribbean. Celebrity is by far the most inclusive.  These boards seemed to suggest that the Cunard line like to nickel and dime their passengers and that would make for a very annoying cruise. Any thoughts  or updates about drink prices on Cunard? 

[IB2]

5 hours ago, hilcadon said:

We are booked on  the round trip transatlantic in late July out of New York  on the QM2 and were just discussing this tonight with my sisters who will be traveling with us. We are going to bring on board a case of wine as well as a case of water and  2 bottles of Hendricks Gin. We have looked on the boards here about the  drink package and it seems that they have not really perfected it. We have had the drink package with Celebrity and it included everything with no up charge so it was well worth the money. If I paid 70.00 PP per day and they up charged me for anything I would not be happy. We have also had the drink package on Princess , Norwegian and Royal Caribbean. Celebrity is by far the most inclusive.  These boards seemed to suggest that the Cunard line like to nickel and dime their passengers and that would make for a very annoying cruise. Any thoughts  or updates about drink prices on Cunard? 

Americans seemed to think they were Ok and Brits that they are over the top.  Partly a comment on the currencies at the moment, of course.  It’s a good wine list and if you buy by the bottle for dinner it’s easy to find something decent and not ridiculously priced.  If however you buy drinks by the glass and spend the day touring the bars, you will run up a hefty bill.  12% gratuity is auto-added to every drinks order and Cunard helpfully puts a space at the bottom for you to tip them again.

Edited October 27, 2019 by IB2

[Underwatr]

1 hour ago, IB2 said:

12% gratuity is auto-added to every drinks order

15%.

[PORT ROYAL]

8 hours ago, theavonb said:

Thanks for the info, we’ll probably take some cans of pop on with us. That is pricy for one can 😱

 

Remember one can topup at every port after embarkation.

[theavonb]

4 hours ago, IB2 said:

Americans seemed to think they were Ok and Brits that they are over the top.  Partly a comment on the currencies at the moment, of course.  It’s a good wine list and if you buy by the bottle for dinner it’s easy to find something decent and not ridiculously priced.  If however you buy drinks by the glass and spend the day touring the bars, you will run up a hefty bill.  12% gratuity is auto-added to every drinks order and Cunard helpfully puts a space at the bottom for you to tip them again.

 

4 hours ago, IB2 said:

Americans seemed to think they were Ok and Brits that they are over the top.  Partly a comment on the currencies at the moment, of course.  It’s a good wine list and if you buy by the bottle for dinner it’s easy to find something decent and not ridiculously priced.  If however you buy drinks by the glass and spend the day touring the bars, you will run up a hefty bill.  12% gratuity is auto-added to every drinks order and Cunard helpfully puts a space at the bottom for you to tip them again.

We don’t drink wine so for us being able to bring on a bottle of Vodka will help keep the cost down. We have a couple of thermal cups we will use to make a drink and find some place to sit and relax. 
Thanks everyone for your comments.

[Radar boomer]

Do they enforce that both parties take the drink package? I understand maybe they think people will share, but if I recall it tops out at 15 max...I would take the coffee package instead.. I know other cruise lines enforce this too..just not really fair for couple who have one who is a Not drinker per say

 

 

[IB2]

If you take the Cunard Drinks Package, you either have an alcohol problem, or your financial planning isn’t up to scratch.

[Underwatr]

god forbid one have six drinks per day.

[PORT ROYAL]

16 hours ago, theavonb said:

We need Diet Coke, hubby is diabetic. Do you know how many cans of pop we are allowed to take on-board?

 

The allowance is not based on Cunard regulations, but as to how big your personal wheelbarrow, and/or truck is.

[gbrchill]

We did the b2b TA in May, from Southampton. I clunked aboard with 6 bottles of prosecco and a bottle of our favourite gin. No one batted an eyelid. We came off the ship back in Southampton having managed to drink 5 of the bottles of prosecco and given one away and only having made a small dent in the gin. For the gin we would go an buy the appropriate tonic in the chart room and then add our gin and consume it once back in our cabin. On one occasion the wrong tonic was asked for - the bar tender questioned the choice.

 

None of this reduced the bar spend  - there is something rather special about sitting in one of the venues supping a fine cocktail and watching the world go by. We did buy the basic soft drinks package and drank our weight in soft drinks. Possibly it would have been cheaper to pay for those as we went, but it made it a no brainer to be able lounge around in one of the bars/public areas and have a soft drink on the go.

 

The alcohol package made our eyes water and livers quiver. We shared a dining table with a family that were going for it. I wouldn't be able to keep up the pace required for even a short time.

Edited November 4, 2019 by gbrchill

[Lakesregion]

I always wonder at why people bring their own booze on a cruise. Do they also drink in their bedrooms at home?Do they drink in their motel rooms on the road? I do know that my parents always took a bottle or two when they decamped for Florida but that was 35 years ago. Guess things or people of that age have not changed.

[Se1lad]

30 minutes ago, Lakesregion said:

I always wonder at why people bring their own booze on a cruise. Do they also drink in their bedrooms at home?Do they drink in their motel rooms on the road? I do know that my parents always took a bottle or two when they decamped for Florida but that was 35 years ago. Guess things or people of that age have not changed.

I don't drink in my bedroom at home, but I do drink in my lounge, and in my previous flat I also drank on the balcony.  As a stateroom also has lounge chairs and a lot of them also have balconies, these make a good place to have a drink whilst relaxing in the afternoon or getting ready for dinner.

 

In Queen's Grill they positively encourage you to drink in your suite by providing free mini bar and spirits!

 

For anyone else it makes sense to bring your own drinks for stateroom consumption - much cheaper than buying on board.

[Underwatr]

I mostly carry on wine for the dining room (better value than from Cunard's cellar, even after corkage) but DW liked her gin as well.

[Se1lad]

Just now, Underwatr said:

I mostly carry on wine for the dining room (better value than from Cunard's cellar, even after corkage) but DW liked her gin as well.

Agreed - if you are wanting to drink wine  over  $50/$60 on the list it is probably cheaper to bring on board and pay the corkage

[IB2]

21 hours ago, Lakesregion said:

I always wonder at why people bring their own booze on a cruise. Do they also drink in their bedrooms at home?Do they drink in their motel rooms on the road? I do know that my parents always took a bottle or two when they decamped for Florida but that was 35 years ago. Guess things or people of that age have not changed.

Times, however, have.

[theavonb]

23 hours ago, Se1lad said:

I don't drink in my bedroom at home, but I do drink in my lounge, and in my previous flat I also drank on the balcony.  As a stateroom also has lounge chairs and a lot of them also have balconies, these make a good place to have a drink whilst relaxing in the afternoon or getting ready for dinner.

 

In Queen's Grill they positively encourage you to drink in your suite by providing free mini bar and spirits!

 

For anyone else it makes sense to bring your own drinks for stateroom consumption - much cheaper than buying on board.

 

2 hours ago, IB2 said:

Times, however, have.

 

23 hours ago, Lakesregion said:

I always wonder at why people bring their own booze on a cruise. Do they also drink in their bedrooms at home?Do they drink in their motel rooms on the road? I do know that my parents always took a bottle or two when they decamped for Florida but that was 35 years ago. Guess things or people of that age have not changed.

It helps to keep the bar tab down. Your cabin is your bedroom so I guess if I make a drink in my cabin then I guess I drink in the bedroom. Totally irrelevant to anything!

[Photo Andy]

Slight variation on the theme.

I want to bring onboard 3x 6 pack of sparkling water as I do not drink alcohol nor tea nor coffee etc but prefer water. Will drink in the room only so no corkage problem.  Plan on carrying onboard on a 2 wheeled collapsible  cart.

On board 750ml of sparkling water is £5 approx. and in  our local supermarket is £0.70, a considerable saving when I drink 2x 750ml per day.  

I am happy to pull the cart, have done a test run and it works. 

Any comments?

Derek. 

[gbrchill]

If you are bringing it on yourself, as hand luggage, then  I believe no one will bat an eyelid, as long as it fits through the x-ray machine as you embark.